Aircraft such as commercial airliners typically include control surfaces mounted on the wings, which may be used to improve the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. Such control surfaces include wing leading edge devices and wing trailing edge devices and which may be extended and/or deflected during different phases of flight to alter the lift and/or drag characteristics of the wings. For example, commercial airliners typically include trailing edge flaps which may be extended during takeoff and landing to increase the camber of the wings such that the wings generate increased lift.
In conventional airliners, the trailing edge flaps are typically extendable by fixed increments corresponding to standard flap settings (e.g., flaps 5, 15, 20, 25, and 30). In conventional airliners, the trailing edge flaps are typically retracted when the airliner is at a cruising altitude, for example to avoid a drag penalty and/or avoid subjecting the wings to increased loading during certain flight maneuvers. Higher loads may require an increase in the strength of the wings, which may lead to a typically undesirable increase in the structural weight of the aircraft.